Jello Incident
by Karianasan
Summary: One of the Flashback stories that was mention in Joys of Autumn. Find out the reason why Velma doesn't want Shaggy and Scooby to have the keys to her leaf blowers... Slice of Life/Every day stories of the gang. A Shaggy and Scooby centric story. Warning, might make you hungry! Enjoy!
1. Jello Incident

With a chill in the air, fall was in full swing as it settled over Coolsville like a blanket. The autumn leaves turning various shades of red, orange and browns… falling about the houses like little bits of colored confetti. Setting the proper tone for the upcoming Halloween holiday.

Bent over his current project, Shaggy was getting himself ready to help his dad's Annual Halloween celebration that the police station put on for the kids. Giving them a safe place to celebrate, and fun games to entertain children and adults alike! And putting his talents to use, Shaggy was in charge of making a bunch of treats for the festivities.

The challenge this time around, was Jell-O! Everything that he was making, had to be made out of the wobbly stuff. From eyeballs to worms, to little specimen cups with a foaming liquid. Jell-O was the main ingredient his father had tasked him to prepare. And he and Scooby had raided several grocery stores to gather enough packets to take on this years

"So, like' Scoob. You have our list of ideas this time around for what we should make?" Looking over at the Dane as he crumpled the bag and tossed it among a pile of others from their earlier escapade. Pulling the last Jell-O box from the bag in one hand, he laid the container upon a stack of others sitting on his kitchen counter. A wall of Jell-O boxes and other recipe ingredients loomed over the edge, casting a shadow from the fading sunlight.

"Rah Rah Raggy. R'ere you ro!" Nodding his head, Scooby looked over the list before handing it to his taller friend. Tail thumping on the ground in eager delight at what was set before him. Knowing that most of the finished products would go to the kids, but that didn't mean that they would make everything perfectly the first try. So it was his solemn duty to make sure nothing goes to waste!

"Thanks pal!" Giving Scooby a head rub, Shaggy then took the clipboard from his paws. Scanning a finger across the written down notes, he smiled as he read the little descriptions.

"We'll have to thank Velma for looking these up for us." Shaggy reminded himself aloud, and also to Scooby in case he forgot. "These instructions seem pretty easy to understand. Like' which one should be start on Scoob?"

Tilting himself to the side, he offered the list for the Dane to look over. A paw coming up to pan down the list before poking the clipboard.

"R'hat one!" Scooby barked readily, tapping a claw on the wooden board a few times to make sure Shaggy knew which one he wanted to start on. Reading the name, Shaggy flipped through the various pages till it came across the instructions of their first project.

"Alright! Gummy Worms it is!" Shaggy said with a nod, scanning across the page for the steps they needed to do to get it right.

"Up to the counter Scoob! We need six packs of Raspberry Jell-O. Make sure it's the 3oz boxes though, since we got some of those weird boxes from our last store. Then nab three of those gelatin packs, and the whipping cream!"

"Rum! R'hipped cream!"

"Yeah, I know. Though we need just normal whipping cream, like' the liquid stuff. But we can split a can later when we are done… or sooner. Let's at least get something started before we treat ourselves!" Shaggy mention to Scooby, knowing that the dog was eager for a treat. But they couldn't get distracted before they even got something done.

"Rah rah!" Scooby agreed, plucking the boxes of Jell-O and gelatin from the piles on the counter and moving it to their work space on the nearby small dining table. Making sure to grab only what Shaggy told him.

"Next is the bag of straws. Oh, and nab a bit of food coloring from the pantry." Shaggy murmured, reading over the next steps as he told Scooby what to grab next.

Padding over to their walk in pantry, Scooby shoved his front half past the door and scanned the nearby shelves. It took a little bit, before his paw came down upon the box of food coloring that had been sitting to his left.

"Oh!" Shaggy shouted at Scooby backside as he was still in the pantry. "Make sure you grab those milk cartons that Velma left us in her junk bag!"

"R'ok!" Scooby replied, turning to fish a paw into a black garbage bag that had been hanging off the back of the door. Velma never liked to toss something out if she could use it for a building project later on. So that made her tend to hoard various containers, toilet paper tubes, and other useful bits of things in a bag in the pantry. Though it tended to be used by everyone, since you never knew when you might need just the right sized piece of cardboard. It took a bit of rummaging, but eventually his paws fell upon the two milk cartons that Velma had placed in just for the gummy worms. Pulling them out, Scooby walked himself over to place the containers and food coloring down before landing back on his haunches and stared up for the next phase.

"Can you wash out those containers Scoob? While I grab the mixing bowl we need and start on these straws?" Shaggy asked, moving to the right drawer to get one of his bowls out. Stacking and unstacking a few bows before getting the right sized bowl, he also made sure to pluck the funnel that sat among the bowls as well. Never knew when you might need a good sized funnel!

Lifting himself up, Scooby turned on the facet to the double sink, and popped the top off to get the running liquid into the containers to clean them out. Usually the gang was good at washing things out, but it was better to give it another one just in case. With one in each paw, he shook the pair of milk containers like maracas to get the water to swoosh around inside. Spinning them around in a way similar to a flair bartender, Scooby juggled the cartons till it was good and washed out. Making sure to rinse a few times before returning to the dining table with the mostly empty vessels. Ready to be trimmed and used.

By the time Scooby came over, Shaggy had set up the bowl and moved on to straightening out the straws. The Jell-O and gelatin mixture would be poured into the various straws, giving the thickening liquid the look of a wiggly worm. The bent part of the straw making the look of little ridges that real worms had.

"Alright, now can you get some boiling water from the kettle I put on earlier? It should still be good enough for mixing. Just fill up the bowl to about an inch from the top, and mix in one packet of gelatin for now. I don't know how many worms we'll be making, so we'll do one batch at a time. Let me know when you get that done?"

Shaggy instructed Scooby, as he continued to straighten out the straws and trim the edge off the carton. Leaving room for him to pack in the straws and be able to fill them without losing too much of the mixture. Shoving as many straws into the box as he could fit.

"R'ot it Raggy!" Scooby saluted, moving to get the water and carefully pour it into the bowl. Making sure to not spill, and then put the kettle back before opening the gelatin package. Pouring the contents, he shook the last little bits before moving to his wooden spoon to mix lightly. He wanted to make sure the powder combined with the water well enough, but not stir too hard and send the hot water everywhere… like he had done before. Stirring for a while, he made sure it was fully mixed before wandering over to where Shaggy was finishing up.

"R'all rone!"

"Good going!" Shaggy said as he gave Scooby a pat on the head for a job well done. Placing the two milk containers, now filled with straws aside. "Now while that cools down, we can make the 'dirt' for the kids to pull the worms from. Come on."

With a wave of his hand, he led the Dane to counter where they had put their various building materials. Searching across the wall of Jell-O, he peered a bit before seeking out the two bags of chocolate cookies he needed. Nabbing the crinkly bags, he tossed them into the air to clear the wall and caught them skillfully on the other side. Tossing the bags at Scooby, Shaggy then moved to find a large plastic Tupperware to put the cookies in when they were done crushing them. The dark brown crumbles made for a great edible dirt substitute!

"Now we just need to make these into dust, so let's get crunching!" Chirped Shaggy, snagging a bag for himself. Giving the bag a squeeze, he crushed the little cookies against one another under his hands. He wanted them to be as small as they could make it, without breaking the bag that held them. Making sure to keep as many of the dirt off the floor as he could help. Not wanting to waste time from their cooking, to clean up after a delicious spill. Plus, they had a lot of cookies to break.

After a while of crushing and crunching, Shaggy moved to check on the gelatin mixture. Placing a finger in it, it still had a way to go before it was cool enough to work with. Though it reminded him that he should set up some of the other projects on his list, while Scooby could take care of cookie demolition. Plus, looking over at the dog, he seemed to be having fun. What dog didn't like playing in dirt? And this was even edible dirt!

Pulling out two pans and two cookie sheets, he was setting up for some Pumpkin bites. Making two mixes of orange Jell-O in the various pots; he added gelatin and water to one, and vanilla yogurt to the other. Double handed mixing, Shaggy made sure to keep it at a low temperature and keeping an eye on the gelatin to dissolve. He then sprinkled in a bit of water and gelatin to the yogurt mix to help firm it up. Normally he would make the plain gelatin first, then use the yogurt out of the same bowl. But he had made this enough times over the years that he was able to eyeball how much he needed to make the yogurt one work. Once both mixes were ready, he turned and poured the hot mixture into the two, non-stick cookie sheets he had waiting. Letting them fill up the sheets to make a rectangle of deliciousness to then use cookie cutter shapes of various jack-o-lanterns and pumpkins. This was the best, because anything that wasn't a pumpkin, meant that Scooby and Shaggy could eat... While not taking any snacks away from the kids.

Popping the cookie sheets into the huge double doored fridge to cool, Shaggy moved to look over the list again.

"Let's see what is next?"


	2. Toxic Goo, Worms, Mad Scientist Beakers

Glancing across his list, Shaggy checked the other ideas they had in mind for this Halloween. Making as many crazy, and silly ideas that could be made out of Jell-O. And he had to make sure they topped themselves from last year! Having made a huge batch of toothy cupcakes to suit the monster theme for the party. Jell-O fit in perfectly with this year's Sludge, Ooze and Slime motif.

With Pumpkins cooling, and worms on their way… It was time to start making some toxic slop!

Shaggy approached the counter, and pulled up the four pineapples they had gotten. Nabbing a nearby cutting board and knife, Shaggy made quick work of cutting the pineapple to have as much of the meat of the fruit as he could. Tugging open a drawer, he grabbed a long corer that he normally used for apples, and went to work making tubes of pineapple. Trying to use up as much of the fruit as possible, so not to waste anything, and to get as many tubes as he could. Finishing the first, Shaggy did the same thing with the other three. Soon he had a pile of tubed Pineapples, and a four holey bits of left over fruit.

"Hey Scoob, mind taking care of these?" Shaggy asked, bringing the pineapples over. Making sure to bring three of the left over bits for Scooby to munch on as he worked.

"R'hat do rou need Raggy?" Scooby wondered, taking a big bite out of the offered pineapple bits. Making sure to take what looked like a mess to eat, rather than the neater looking tubes. Figuring those are what he was going to be making something out of.

"I need you to like' make these into little toxic waste barrels." Taking one of the tubes, Shaggy cut an inch and a half tall chunk off with a knife he brought over with him. Cutting little rings at the top, middle and bottom of the chunk, he then carved between them to make an indented piece of the barrel. Just enough of the fruit off, so that the rings stuck out away from the rest of the core. It wasn't perfect, but it gave off the look of a yellow barrel.

"I figure you can carve them like this, and we can paint on some food coloring later to make the bands stand out and maybe like a radioactive symbol. Something to put in our cup o' slime!" Shaggy said as he placed the little barrel in front of Scooby to look at. Placing the knife down so Scooby could use it as well. Tilting his head back and forth, the dog took in the little barrel shape into his mind. Pondering the steps Shaggy had shown him, he chewed it over mentally before nodding.

"R'ot it!" Scooby barked excitedly. Pulling up the knife to get to work.

Watching for a second, Shaggy nodded and moved back to his work station. Grabbing a bag of red delicious and green granny smith apples, he made sure to wash them off before cutting them into slices. He wanted to make a bunch of piranha's and other weird looking fish out of the fruits to also be put into the Slime buckets he was going to make. So Scooby was going to need large enough pieces to make into the shapes for the cups. And to give a different flavor profiles, he mixed up the two types of apples for the kids to 'fish' out. A nice mix of sweet and sour along with the pineapple. Piling the slices to work with on one plate, he made a bowl of the left over parts for Scooby to munch on while he worked. Stealing a few bits for himself before dropping off the next stage for the Dane.

"When you're done with those, just make like' piranhas and fish out of the apples, ok Scoob?" Shaggy pointed out.

"And these are for you!" Shaggy mentioned as he placed the apple parts within scarfing distance. Knowing that Scooby would most likely dive head first into the bowl, so his paws could keep working.

Leaving the Dane to continue what he was doing, Shaggy moved to find the worm mixture just right! Plucking the bowl, he grabbed some whipping cream and the green food coloring. Putting in a few drops, he then added the whipping cream by eye. Whisking lightly, he made sure it was all mixed before pulling up the stuffed cartons and the funnel. Juggling the parts, he poured the bowl into the funnel, and made sure to try to aim right so that all the straws got filled up properly. Chiding himself for not using a mixing bowl that had its own spout. But hey, the funnel did the job.

Adding the mixture to both cartons, he made just enough to fill them to the brim. Carefully picking up the containers, he placed them into the fridge by the pumpkin mix to set. Needing them to be firm before he would be able to extract the worms from their makeshift molds.

"Two down… Now what was I doing?" Shaggy pondered aloud, having lost track of what he was doing before the worms. "Oh yeah, I need to make some toxic sludge!"

Back to the counter, he fished a bunch of Green Jell-O from his piles and nabbed another bowl to mix things it. Taking a second to clean up the few bowls and pans that had been used, he made more room for the next batch. With them in the sink to clean later, he had space to lay out the bowl for the green Jell-O. Opening two packages, he plucked the hot kettle and added the two together into the bowl. Stirring till dissolved, Shaggy then added two cups of cold water to the mixture to help cool the rest down. Looking around, he found a few serving trays he had snagged from a fast food place that had gone under, and used them to stack a bunch of clear plastic cups to house the green liquid. Making sure to only fill the cups most of the way. Once filled, he placed the tray into the refrigerator with the others. But this time, he needed to make sure to check on them at a certain time. So he was going to need to set a timer!

Crossing the kitchen floor, Shaggy opened an upper cabinet to show off the contents inside. With his Kitchen being his second home… People often gave him various kitchen tools and utensils when they couldn't think up another type of gift to give him and Scooby. So over the years, they had amassed a rather large collection of Kitchen timers. And sure, they could use the digital one that sat nearby on the oven. But there was something satisfying about a ticking, little dial timer.

Wiggling fingers, Shaggy's hand hovered over the choices that sat at the edge of the shelf. Passing over the classic egg shaped timer, he also didn't go for the mushroom shaped one. Nor the ladybug and tomato that sat on either side. No, Shaggy moved past all of them to pluck a little hedgehog timer from the collection. It was domed in shape, with a little oval hedgehog face and ears on the front. The nose being the indicator of the timer. The rest of the body fit snuggly into his hand like a ball cut in half. Little bits stuck out of the body to indicate quills, without making the timer hard to hold. A ring then sat at the base, able to twist independently from the top to set however long you needed. It only could be set to an hour, so the little hedgehog would have to be set twice, before he would check on the slime cups.

With Timer in place, Shaggy moved to check on Scooby. He had gotten a bunch of barrels done, taking a break between eating to also carving some other fishy shapes. So he was a good way done with both projects he had been given. Making sure to give a reassuring scratch, Shaggy crossed the kitchen to return to the clipboard. Reading over the two left over ideas, Shaggy deciding to save the most complicated one for last.

Flipping the page to the set of instructions for the project on hand, he skimmed through the instructions and what parts he was going to need. First he wanted to put another pot of water in the kettle to boil, since he had drained most of what he had made before. Plucking up one of each color left over, Shaggy nabbed a bowl for each color. Green apple, Grape purple, strawberry red, orange-banana and berry blue. Placing the packets out of the box and by the bowls, he then moved to fish the tub of vanilla ice cream out of the fridge to let it warm up a bit as the kettle worked its magic. He could technically use Velma's self-heating spoon she had made him a while ago, but there was still things that needed to be done, so he could let nature do the work for him as he got other things ready. And worse case, could break the spoon out if it was still too hard to carve later.

"Hm…" Thinking to himself, he looked at the several bowls in front of him. He was going to have to mix ice cream into each bowl, but there was more bowls then he wanted to try to juggle in his arms at one time. So Shaggy pondered what the best method would be to get them done quickly without dragging Scooby away from what he was doing for an extra paw.

While he wasn't able to help Fred much with his traps, he was pretty good at figuring out solutions if he had the time to sit there and chew on it for a while. Great overall, but not really good on a case where his feet moved faster than his head did. But that is why they had Fred and Velma for that sort of thing…

"Ah! I got it!" Exclaiming to himself, earning a sideways look from Scooby at the table, Shaggy thought of the perfect idea to solve his issue. The hardest thing was finding it.

Crouching, he looked through several of his cabinets to search for what he was looking for. One of the few downsides to having a professionally stocked kitchen that would rival most cooking show gurus... He had **_WAY_** too many gadgets, random appliances, odd utensils and other kitchen doodads scattered about in anything that could be considered storage in the beloved room. So as much as he loved his cooking thingamabobs, doohickeys, and wotsits… Trying to find a particular whatchamacallit was a bit of a task to remember where he saw it last.

Shifting the miscellaneous bits and bobs here and there, he was finally able to get his hands on the two parts he needed for his idea. Pulling out a rather large, circular metal tray, he then placed it on top of a small wooden lazy Susan on a surface that had enough room to hold the now spinning tray. Making it easy to rotate the various bowls for him to be able to mix everything without having to slow down the mixing process or have to ask Scooby for help.

' _Just in time too!_ ' As whistle off to one side sounded, telling Shaggy that his water had come to a boil and was ready for the next step. Placing all the bowls in a circle on the tray, he filled each with two cups of the boiling water before he added the various colors into each bowl. Whisking each mixture until they dissolved in the boiling water, he then moved to the ice cream. Trying to move quickly, since he had a lot to mix, he tossed the ice cream scoop into the air. As it spun in an arch, Shaggy had enough time to pop off the top of the container and be able to catch the spoon to use into the frosty material. Carving a deep mark into the top of the ice cream, he flipped the perfectly scooped ball into the air behind him. Cast over one shoulder, he flung the desert at his canine companion. Not ever a drop was missed, as the frozen treat was snatched out of the air without Scooby missing a beat on his own project.

It certainly was melted enough for what Shaggy needed, which was good. Between the melted ice cream, and the hot water, he was able to fold in the treat to the rest of the mix. And the lazy Susan allowed him to rotate between the bowls and whisk everything together in an effective manner.

 _Daphne would be proud._

With everything mixed, now all he had to do was add the various colors into plastic, clear cups for him to alter into the look he wanted. Well, the look Velma wanted, as this had been her idea. The ice cream/Jell-o solution would be refrigerated and as the mix set up, it would separate into two yummy layers that the kids would love. And the containers they would come in, looked like little beakers, which is why Velma had liked it. Wanting to have at least one of them for herself. She had the lab coat ready and waiting, so she could enjoy the treat like a proper mad scientist. Though it was unsure if she was planning on going to the Halloween event as one, or that was just what she had the coat sitting around in her closet and she wanted a reason to use it. Not that it mattered to Shaggy, since there was always a reason to eat something yummy!

Marking up each 'beaker' with a sharpie, Shaggy made little lines that looked like proper measurement up the side of the plastic cup. He knew that Velma would know that it wasn't perfectly to any official scale, but this was for kids. And while teaching them proper measurement was good, this wasn't meant to be an educational tool. Just a stylized vessel for a delicious treat.

Once all the beakers were filled most of the way with the colored mixtures, Shaggy placed the collection into the fridge to cool with the others. He was glad that the day before had been a buffet day, otherwise he and Scooby would have had to make enough room to fit all the various projects they had in the works.

' _Though it would have been a hard ordeal, we would have had forced ourselves to do whatever had been necessary…_ ' Shaggy joked mentally, placing a hand upon his chest in pledge. ' _For the good of the children!_ '


	3. Final Touches

_**~Ding!~**_

With the little Hedgehog sounding off, Shaggy moved to pluck the little animal and reset the timer for a second hour before returning it to where it had been sitting. Giving it a nod, Shaggy was soon then interrupted by his buddy from somewhere behind him.

"Raggy! RI'm rone!" Called Scooby from the table, making Shaggy wander over from what he had been doing to take a look at the Danes creations.

Coming to the table, Shaggy looked down at the bunch of fishes and barrels that Scooby had made. The Canine cook had crafted each little fish and barrel with his own two paws and even managed to add some colored accents to them all with food coloring he had snagged when Shaggy wasn't looking. Making some barrels have green highlights like ooze, various metal looking bands, and the radioactive signs that Shaggy had mentioned earlier. And even the little piranhas and other fish had little color accents.

"Good going Scoob!" Shaggy gave the dog a heavy head scratch in thanks, earning a deep foot thudding in appreciation of the gesture. His posture slowly slipping to one side as his paw echoed his happiness and he leaned into Shaggy's hand to ask for more.

"R'hat ris reft?" Scooby asked once Shaggy had stopped and he was able to regain his tongue back into his head to ask. Shaggy moved to pluck the list off the counter and flip the pages to look over what they had left to do.

"We got the Worms done and setting, along with the beakers and the pumpkin mix. And the timer will let us know when the Toxic sludge will be ready for your creations. Looks like all that we have left is that and the gummy eyeballs!"Shaggy said as he plucked Scooby's masterpieces and placed them in the refrigerator for safe keeping. They might spoil a bit if they left them just sitting out as they waited another hour to place the creations into their awaiting mixture.

Halloween one of those times where the strange and weird felt a bit more normal. So the duo were both excited at the idea of making as creepy of edible eyeballs as they could make. In the past as kids, they used to be scared of all the masks and spooky figures that came out on that Holiday. But after training with the gang on their costume changes for candy, the scaredy duo's opinion changed. Enjoying Halloween as one of the many holidays that had a food element to them. (Other favorites being Christmas for cookies, candy canes and big family meals. 4th of July for BBQ's. Valentine's Day for Chocolate, and Easter for even more chocolate and marshmallows. And well, Thanksgiving was all about the food!)

Moving across the kitchen, Shaggy directed Scooby to gather the parts that they needed for the Gelatin eyeballs. Mainly the brownie silicon molds, which he was using to get the right kind of shape for the domed eyeballs. And the measuring cups for ingredients, and the ingredients themselves.

Heating up some milk, Shaggy worked on that while Scooby wiped down the rounds molds with some vegetable oil. Making sure the mold would release the precious eyeballs once they were done. Once the milk was set up, Shaggy had to bloom the gelatin in a measuring bowl he had brought over. Normally, there are two main options in types of gelatin, sheets or powder. The beatnik's personal preference was powder, as it was a bit easier to set up in his opinion.

He just had to pour in the powder and let it dissolve before adding some type of hot liquid element. Which was hot milk in this case. And once the milk was added, he made sure to add two to three teaspoons of sugar and a teaspoon of almond extract to add some flavoring to the dish. Making them taste with a light almond flavor similar to an Asian float/tofu dish the man had found online while hunting for recipes to make.

With everything mixed, Shaggy passed the measuring bowl to Scooby, who sniffed the mix with a nod before adding it to the molds that sat in front of him. Pouring it halfway in the brownie molds, to give them the right kind of shape. Also, if they were too big, it might not be as easy for the kids to eat. So they didn't want to make them the full size that the mold could actually make. Halfway was just enough.

"Alright! Now these little guys need to go into the fridge for setting. If I like' remember reading correctly, they need to sit for around four hours."

"R'awwww." Scooby moaned, sad that it took so long to make the yummy dishes they were working on. Prolonging the inevitable failures from happening, so they could 'test' how the treat was coming along.

"Yeah, I know buddy. But it's all worth it for the kids." Shaggy pointed out, which the Dane understood. It was very rewarding to make food for others, which is why they always liked Buffet Wednesday for the gang. And well… little kids always loved getting yummy things and giving Scooby head scratches and belly rubs as thanks. So it was well worth it.

Moving to the fridge, he placed the eyeball molds to sit and 'chill' out with the rest of the treasured treats that were hanging out and setting. And since the door was already open, Shaggy was able to look over what they had to take stock to see if they had enough.

"Alright. Hm. So we have a batch of eyeballs, sheets of soon to be pumpkins, cartons of worms and a bowl of dirt, and two set of cups… One of mad scientist cups, and one of toxic sludge. And a sheet of barrels, and fish. And the sludge is setting up still." Shaggy commented, eyeing the little hedgehog timer. Though not too much time was left, so they would be setting that up soon.

"Hey Scoob."  
"Rah Raggy?"

"You know where the toothpicks are? We want to use them to get your fishes and barrels in place in their green goo." Shaggy wondered, asking the Dane if he had seen them. Toothpicks were always useful, so sometimes they grew legs and walked about the kitchen for various projects. So it was more a matter of remembering when they were last used, and which pantry, cabinet, shelf or drawer it could have ended up in.

Placing a paw to his muzzle, Scooby tried to recall when they had lasted used it. But as much as the dog thought, his mind ended up drifting more to the yummy food they had made in the last while, rather than how they had made it and with what. So he just moved through the kitchen searching. It was probably quicker than waiting for his mind to actually remember where they were. And as skilled as his nose was in finding things, they used far too many wooden instruments to be able to sniff out the box.

Shrugging, Shaggy couldn't remember either, moving to the other side of their large kitchen and trying to use his best guess knowing themselves, to where the little box might have ended up. Though it wasn't a bad thing for them to have to search, since they needed to wait for the little timer to sound off, before they could even use the toothpicks. So it was a good use of their time.

 _ **~Ding!~**_

"R'I found rit!"

Perfectly timed, Scooby had found their little box as the hedgehog called from its position on the counter. Ringing for a bit, telling them that their sludge was ready for the next stage.

"Good job Scoob! Now fetch your little guys while I grab the cups. And we'll use the toothpicks to skewer your works and then use another toothpick to release them into the sludge. The Jell-o should be thick enough to hold the various bits in place, so they don't sink to the bottom. Thankfully your apple fishies should be light enough to float. Though like' maybe next time, we should use some Swedish fish as well, to add some sweetness and candies to the dish as well."

"Rum! Swedish rish!" Scooby slurped, eager to try that next time. Even if it was just for them. But as much food they tended to stock up on in their fancy kitchen, those little snacks wasn't one of them. At least not unless they had a plan to use them for something. Which now, maybe they might need to add them to their stock.

So the two chefs got to work, meticulously adding each element to the little cups for the kids. Hoping that the kids will not only love the look of them, but enjoy eating the various parts of the Halloween dishes. And they had yet to disappoint, so the pressure was on to not only top themselves, but make sure the children loved what they made. And it didn't take too long to put the various bits in place and set the containers back into place to finish setting up.

"Well, it looks like we made everything!" Shaggy noted as he looked over the fridge. "The worms have to set, and then we can de-straw them. The Pumpkins need to set, before we can take the cookie cutters to them and enjoy anything that isn't a pumpkin."

"Rum rum!" Slurped Scooby, excited for that part of the process.

"Eh hehe, yeah. Me too. And the barrels are set in place and curing. And the measuring cups look like they are firming up nicely! We need to make sure to give Velma one of the Orange-banana ones. I bet she would like it in her color. And the eyeballs need to be painted, once they are ready for us to work on them. And then I think we are like' done!" Shaggy chirped eagerly. Everything was going to plan, and they would be ready to bring them to the party with plenty of time to spare.

"Well, since we have to wait for things to finish getting ready… Wanna go for a walk, old buddy old pal?"

"Rah rah!"

"Alright! Let me get my shoes on, and we'll head to the park while we wait. And by the time we get back, it should be time for unmolding and packing them to give off to Pop." Shaggy remarked as he closed the door to let it do its work to keep in the cold and help with the setting up of their goodies. Leaving the kitchen, the duo were off for a walk. Eager to get back once enough time passed to finish up their creations.


	4. Scooby's Bright Idea

Coming back from their walk, Scooby and Shaggy were itching to get back to work. As much fun as they had been killing a few hours, their professionalism and eagerness for a little bit of taste testing… were winning out. So once the most amount of time they had to wait had passed, the two were back home and rolling up their 'sleeves' per say, to get back into the thick of things.

Pulling out a few industrial racks, Shaggy and Scooby wanted to transfer the cups to the tough blue plastic racks for easy transport and stacking. Having helped enough people that were in the kitchen industry to have gotten several of the honey-combed sided racks for power washing for storage at home. And they made it easy to transport various bits of food and drink depending on which rack they needed to use. The one made for cups were great for their little creations, and the flat-bottomed rack would serve as a good made to stack the various Tupperware and plastic storage containers Shaggy planned to stack for the rest of the items that were not in glasses.

Though honestly, Shaggy would have loved to own a power washer to use this Carlisle racks for their intended purpose. But as much food at him and Scooby had made, even on their heaviest days, never amounted to the volume that one would need for such a heavy duty washing machine. That and the room they needed for one of those, didn't quite pan out when they were expanding the kitchen from what Miss Snowlark had when she lived there.

"Alright Scoob, once we get these glasses all in the racks and back into the fridge for the police station, we can get to the fun stuff!" Shaggy said excitedly, eyeing the pumpkin cookie cutters with a bit of drool forming. It was the one bit of food that was going to let them enjoy their creations without taking anything away from the kids. So both their stomachs were looking forward to that part of the packing.

Once the glasses were stacked and awaiting transport, Shaggy looked back to where Scooby had eagerly broke out the cookie cutters and placed them next to the two containers that the pumpkins would call home until they were served the day of the party. So there would be no wait for the stamping, extracting and enjoying of the leftover bits. Something Shaggy could appreciate, getting right down to the good stuff.

"Alright Scoob, do you want the yogurt one? Or the plain orange pumpkins?" Shaggy offered, happy to eat either of them, so he offered the choice to his best bud.

"Hmmm…" Tilting his big head to the proper thinking head tilt angle, he pondered his choice over. Shifting the tilt from side to side a few times, before choosing.

"R'hat one!"

Pointing to the more cream colored, yogurt choice, Scooby clapped his paws together in earnest. Rubbing them at the prospect of the yummy treat that was awaiting them.

"Sure, now Scooby. We need to make as many pumpkins for the kids. So try to make the pumpkins as close as you can to each other." Shaggy warned, giving the dog a look. Knowing had he not said that, Scooby might have made more spacing between each pumpkin, just so that meant more treats for himself to enjoy. And as much as Shaggy would understand, they were making it for the kids. So he didn't want to let their eyes and stomachs to prevent the children from enjoying the snack as much as they could offer. No matter how delicious the temptation was. Shaggy almost needed a rolled up newspaper… to bop them both, if they gave into their urges.

"Wait Scoob. I got an idea!"

Placing down the sheet, he gave a stern finger waggle to Scooby and a light nose boop before moving to the fridge. It took only a short time before Shaggy had found what he had been looking for. Checking the expiration date, they were still good, so he nabbed the two cans. Spinning them like a cowboy would their revolvers, Shaggy showed off a bit before walking to where Scooby was sitting in wait for Shaggy's masterful plan.

Eyes lighting up as soon as the Dane figured out his buddy's plan, he tilted his nose to the sky and waited eagerly with his mouth open and tongue hanging off to the side to be out of the way. Popping the two red tops off with a flourish, Shaggy aimed the two nozzles into Scooby's awaiting mouth and sprayed.

 _ **~Psssshhhhhhhhhhhh~**_

Duel wielding two cans of whipped cream, Shaggy figured if they had at least some type of treat, it would be safer for the pumpkins to get made if they were occupied with another snack while they were working. They had just gone for a walk after all, they had plenty of room for the delightful tidbit. Plus Scooby had mentioned it earlier, so why not use have that while they worked.

Handing off one of the cans for Scooby to milk as he worked, Shaggy filled his mouth with some before settling down to get to work on cutting out the designs and placing them in their rightful containers. Pressing one of the cutters into the top most edge, Shaggy tried to place it to give the most amount of pieces that he could. One after another, he worked to removed finished pumpkins and place them lightly into the plastic tub. Layering them in such a way for them to fit, and be easy to pluck out to serve later at the party.

With his mouth occupied, slurping down the chilled dairy product, the pumpkins were safe from his hunger. And the Dane was making quick work, getting the finish products out of the way so he could enjoy the leftovers with a side of whipped cream. Which wasn't such a bad idea, once Shaggy thought about it. Making a mental note to buy more whipped cream in time for the party, so the kids could add some to their treats if they wanted too.

Making quick work on the pumpkins, they packed them up and returned the Tupperware into the fridge and in one of the racks for later moving. And that left just the eyeballs and worms to take apart from their molds.

"Hey Scoob, you want to do more painting? The eyeballs need their iris in food coloring."

"Rure Raggy!"

Bringing over the molds and a tray for Scooby to use as he painted, Shaggy moved to get the food safe set of paint brushes Fred had gotten him a while back. And Daphne had made sure to have bought them a proper case to keep them clean and put away from everything else to keep them neat and ready to be used. Also, the directions recommended using the tip of a cake decorating bag to dip and stamp a circle to help start the eyeball detail, rather than trying to paint it by hand/paw. And as skilled as Scooby was, this just made the process faster.

After handing over the parts for Scooby to get to work, Shaggy moved to start demolding the worms. As he was going to have to remove the excess, (another batch of things they could eat) and then removed the worms from their straws. Which might take a bit to do each one by hand?

Moving himself to the sink, Shaggy placed a bowl down to catch any extra while he cut away the cartons that housed the now mass of gelatin and Jell-O. Wrestling the straws free, Shaggy slowly worked to unpeel chunks of the material away from the molding. Putting aside each straw he freed upon a paper towel, occasionally indulging himself to some scraps as he worked. Though making sure to save some to share with Scooby.

It was time-consuming, but eventually Shaggy was able to free the straws from their surplus and split the leftovers between him and Scooby. Making sure to reward the Dane for his talented work, having checked on him and saw how much the dog had managed to get done as he was grappling his own project. It was around one hundred straws to de-worm, so Shaggy pulled up a chair to start hand squeezing out each worm and placing them into a safe container. Trying to make sure he was able to free the worm without breaking it into several pieces. But surprisingly, they were a lot tougher, being gelation, then Shaggy had originally thought.

With skilled paws, Scooby had made quick work of his own task and had enough time to eat wormy extra bits before noticing how slow Shaggy had been extracting the food from their molds. Tilting his head to the side, the cogs were slowly but surely working in Scooby's brain for a quicker solution to help his pal out.

"Raggy raggy! R'I will be right rack!"

Claws clattering to the floor, the dog rushed up and out of the kitchen to run off to whatever bright idea he had come up with. Though as he hadn't told Shaggy what he was up too, the man only looked up in confusion as his buddy took off to somewhere in the house. Not realizing why Scooby had left him in the kitchen. But at least he had neatly packed the eyeballs up before he left.

Shaggy made sure to put the eyeballs in the fridge before returning back to his seat to return to the repetitive process. Only getting a few more undone before Scooby bumped into the kitchen door with a small crash. Something he had, was making noise as Scooby tried to get it and him into the kitchen. It took a few tries, but finally Scooby made it past the swinging door with a rather large object. Rattling against the wood, as the Dane carried it into the house by his mouth. Allowing his paws to trot through the house to get to his final destination.

It took Shaggy a bit to realize what Scooby had just pulled into the room. It was mostly a long tube that connected to a spiraled bit that had the handle and various controls to turn it on. Presenting it to Shaggy, Scooby held up the leaf blower proudly! Putting it on display for his pal to check out, and marvel in his brilliant idea.

"Uh, what's that for Scoob?" Shaggy asked, unsure why he had disappeared only to return with one of Velma's lawn tools.

"For R'a wormies!" Scooby barked excitedly. It made perfect sense in his head after all. All they needed to do, was put the worms on one end and then pull the trigger. The leaf blower would do all the work! It would be far faster than having to squeeze out each worm by hand, as Shaggy had been doing. They would be there FOREVER!

Staring at the power tool with a doggy head tilt, the Shaggy haired man considered the possibility. It certainly would be faster than what he had been doing. And those sorts of things tended to have a speed setting, right? So they could easily just put it on the lowest setting, and just lightly squeeze the trigger to puff out the worms in one go.

"Hey! Like' great idea Scoob!"


	5. We Can't Have Nice Things

Gathering up the worms in a bundle, the duo figured they had enough worms to eject them out in two shots, and only have a few extra to do by hand. Since the nozzle of the leaf blower was only so wide, so they couldn't fit them all in at once. But even doing a few by hand, and the rest by the blower was quicker than their current method.

Searching around, it took a bit for Shaggy to find some left over blue painters tape that he had borrowed from someone in the household previously. He figured with taping the worms in place, all the air would then go into pushing out the worms rather than shooting the whole bundle across the room. (As cool as that would be, it wouldn't be what they wanted.) So, the duo made sure to wrap the tape around many times, to secure their straws in place before examining the leaf blower. Adding a bit extra, just in case.

Rather be safe than sorry.

Once mounted and in place, Shaggy and Scooby turned to looking at the various knobs and dials that sat upon the leaf blower. While it wasn't the easiest to understand, Shaggy tried his best to problem solve it. Since there was only so much that was on the tool that could be what he was looking for. But the dials didn't really explain themselves, only showing a range of markings that he guessed was what he was searching for.

"Hey, this little knob here kinda looks like what we have on the dash of the Mystery Machine, right Scoob?" Shaggy mentions, pointing out the little knob in question. Earning a confused look from the Dane, though perked ears in his general direction and mention at the device.

"Yeah, like the line of how much the AC or the defroster." Shaggy said with a nod, thinking to the collection of buttons and switches that controlled the various miscellaneous bits on the dash of the van. Though it was more of a slider then a knob, but the little picture seemed the same. Just a long triangle shape, that was pointed and tiny on the smaller end, and then wide and flat on the other end to show a greater amount. Like a big, long slice of pizza!

"Mmmm, R'izza!"

Turning the dial all the way down, Shaggy wanted the leaf blower to be on the smallest speed. They didn't just want to fling the worms across the room willy nilly. Again, that would be cool, but not what they wanted at the moment. But that thought reminded Shaggy that they needed something soft, and able to hold and catch the worms once they finished their short flight. So, a large bowl with some padded down paper towels should do the trick!

Standing with the bowl ready, Shaggy aimed the bowl at the end of the leaf blower as Scooby readied the machine. It was a bit cumbersome for his doggy paws, so Shaggy moved to help Scooby place the device instead on their nearby table. Clearing off anything that would get in their way, and setting up a chair so that Scooby could sit and brace the power tool in place before pulling the trigger.

Quickly running to get back into position, Shaggy held up the dish and braced himself to catch the worms.

"Let her rip!"

~ _Click_ ~ 

"…"

~ _Click click click_ ~

~ _Whine_ ~

"…Hm." Lowering the bowl, Shaggy looked over at Scooby who was pulling the trigger and nothing was happening. As much as the Dane clicked the little button, it didn't make much of a difference and certainly wasn't shooting out any worms for Shaggy to catch.

"I wonder what's wrong."

Shaggy pondered, putting the bowl on the table to move over to where Scooby was whining. Looking over with a pair of big and sorrowful eyes between Shaggy and the leaf blower. Worried that he had done something to prevent the worms from exiting their straw bindings, like squeezing the trigger too hard or something?

"Don't worry buddy, you didn't break it. I guess that maybe it just needs some more gas or something."

Reassuring Scooby with a pat, Shaggy moved to look at the troublesome gadget. Hoping that it was a simple fix, and they wouldn't have to go ask Velma for help. Not that she would mind all that much, but more that he didn't want to bother her, had she been doing something important and was in the middle of something.

Wiggling the dials, and turning the knobs, Shaggy didn't see anything obviously wrong with the machine. But in his searching, he didn't find a tank either. There was no cap to pour any liquid into, or a pull cord like their lawn mower to turn on the motor. But there seemed to be something at the base that he didn't see earlier. With some patting, a panel slid out of the way, revealing a small plug.

"Oh! Like' that's why it wasn't working Scoob." Shaggy said with a laugh, holding up the plug for him to see. "It needs to be plugged in!"

"R'ooooo. Rot it! Eh hee hee hee." Laughed Scooby, happy it wasn't him that broke it, but rather that it needed to be plugged in like any of their other kitchen appliances. He would had felt bad that after he had borrowed it from Velma that he would have had to return it to her when it was not working.

Handing the machine to Scooby, Shaggy tugged out the cord. But it wasn't long enough to be able to reach any outlets. But that was an easy fix, since their kitchen was outfitted with several outlets. Because some of their kooky food projects in the past, they had several extension cords bought just for the kitchen, in case they needed the distance. It didn't take long for Shaggy to locate one of them, and plug it into a nearby outlet and connect the short cord to restore power to the engine.

~ _Whirrrrrrr_ ~

~ _Phomph!_ ~

~ ** _SPLAT!_** ~

"WAH!"

Having picked up the leaf blower to offer the back end to Shaggy to plug in, Scooby had accidentally been gripping the machine by the handle and the power trigger. And unlike what the duo had expected, the tool was far overpowered for the project they had been trying to use it for. Shooting the pack of worms from their little plastic prisons and across the room where they had hit something… Someone they hadn't been expecting.

Velma.

Standing there, tense and unmoving… the youngest member of the household had been reading when Scooby had approached her to ask about borrowing the keys to the leaf blower. But the novel had been so involving, that it took the end of the chapter for the Dane's request to sink in and she realized what he had asked. Her mind been occupied with why Scooby might have wanted the power tool, that she had made the mistake of not looking into the kitchen first before she just barged into the room to ask what the dog had needed the machine for. And then finding out the hard way of the duo's intentions with the contraption, first hand.

And now was currently wearing the gelatin worms all over herself…

"…"

Velma didn't know what to say.

She also couldn't see very well, so her first move was to try to clean off her glasses upon her shirt... Blinking down at the blur that was herself, she was able to see enough to notice that there wasn't an unblemished spot on her sweater to even fix her problem… Being covered in reddish blobs that used to be worms. She had to move to nab a nearby dishtowel to take care of that before she could even see them to toss a sour look their way.

"Are you ok Velms!"

"Relma!"

Charging across the room, the guys were on top of her before she knew it. With Scooby 'helping' to clean her up, while Shaggy looked on with a concerned look upon his face.

"Like' I knew the worms were going to be flying, but I didn't expect that they would fly that far... Or break apart like that on impact..."

Nabbing a paper towel, Shaggy moved to get the few pieces that made it to the top of her head and hair, while he left the more thorough cleaning to his buddy's eager tongue and paws. Slurping the various red worm bits off of Velma's sweater, doing the best job he could to return the orange outfit back to its normal color.

"..."

She wanted to get mad, she really did. But they were so worried about her well-being, that it was hard to hold it against the goofballs. It was not like they actually meant to hit her on purpose. ( _That would be a waste of food after all._ ) But she did learn the hard way what the guys had been using the leaf blower for.

Batting the duo away from their fussing, she regained her footing to fully take in the scene. The leaf blower had been dropped in the rush to her aid, and sat upon the floor beside the table that it had been braced on. And with a quick scan of the kitchen, Velma was able to put the puzzle pieces together to see the full picture of what had happened.

Turning on a heel, she sent a level gaze towards the pair and brought up a finger to point accusingly at them.

"You..."

Which earned a gulp, as the two glanced at each other wearily. Trying to read her body language and figure out what was coming.

"... This must mean that at least my mad scientist measuring cups are in the works, right?"

Wearing a lopsided grin, she took a more relaxed pose, shaking her head with a sigh. Putting the event behind her. What is a bunch of gummy worms to the face, between friends... right? At least in their household, it was always your own fault if you enter into the lair of the dynamic duo without checking for projectiles.

' _Maybe I should get around to making a sign..._ ' Velma thought to herself.


	6. Hopes She Doesn't Notice

Sipping on her first cup, Velma had settled down at the table to enjoy her little treat as she watched them clean up the floor from their little accident. Trying to seek her forgiveness, Shaggy had offered her two of the beaker ice cream goodies instead of just the one he had set aside for her. Though still wanting to eat the treat in her lab coat for Halloween, she opted to only eat one for now and save the other for the Halloween Party.

Finishing up from the floor cleaning, Shaggy cast a glance over and had to quickly look away before Velma had noticed the expression on his face. Gathering up the various bits of ruined paper towels, Shaggy used the time that it took to throw them away to be able to put on a solid poker face before turning back to her...

Because Velma had been indulging herself upon one of the grape flavored deserts, she was now sporting a rather thick purple mustache that sat outrageously upon her face. The color stood out against her skin; sitting squarely across her lips, inching down the sides of the corners of her mouth. Quite ridiculous looking, though the shade was more Daphne then Velma. Which made it all the more amusing to Shaggy. Thankful for the time he had to steel himself, but he wasn't sure how long he could last without letting her know something was up.

...She wore the mustache well at least.

"Pssst, hey Scoob."

Shaggy didn't want his pal to ruin it, as the Dane might give away the odd face wear early, so he tried to call over his bud to give him a task. To keep him occupied and out of the way for a little bit. Well, technically they could still use some paper towels, so it wasn't a ruse. Just a delay tactic. He kinda wanted to see how long he could keep a straight face when looking at her, and how long it would take her to notice either him, or herself in something reflective. It was just funny, and also a bit of harmless fun he figured she wouldn't mind too much once she found out. So, he didn't want Scooby to spoil it early.

"Rah Raggy?" Butt wagging, Scooby was none the wiser and eager to do anything for his pal. He hadn't noticed Velma yet, being in charge of ' _disposing_ ' of some of the rogue worms that got on the floor.

"Can you go find the paper towels we have in the bedroom? I think, we might like' need it for today. I know we have a roll in there somewhere." Shaggy asked, recalling that there was at least one in the room. But where, he was hoping was buried enough to take the Dane some time for searching. And he hoped that Scooby didn't remember that there was a new package in the pantry.

"R'ok Raggy!" Saluting, Scooby clattered across the kitchen, with one more slurp upon the floor before aiming for the kitchen door that led to their hallway to get to their room to search. Buying Shaggy, a bit of time.

"So, you guys were working on your dad's request for this years' Halloween event, right?" Velma perked up, having eaten most of her dessert, she was trying to milk the last little bit as long as possible. Just adding to her mustache every time she went back in for more. Though wanting to clarify and catch up to what all had been happening in the kitchen.

"Like' yeah. We have been working all morning to get things done. We only really had these worms left. Everything else was just setting up in the fridge."

Wandering over to where Velma was sitting, Shaggy tried to keep himself distracted from wanting to look at her square in the face. Delaying the time it took the young detective to find out what had happened to her. Plucking the discarded leaf blower from the floor, he made sure it was unplugged before casting a glance into the front of the machine.

Not that he would mind a face full of yummy treats, but at the end of the day, they were meant to be made for the kids. So, he can't be wasting them all.

Pulling the binding off, he slowly took apart the taped mess that he had made trying to secure the worms in place, removing the straws from the machine. Trying to see how many actually left their tubing, and what had to be removed by hand. Though surprisingly, it worked pretty well as an idea. Since most of the worms had in fact, left their containers and made it onto Velma. But as entertaining as flying worms were, the idea was to keep them in one piece.

Plucking the few that had been left, Shaggy moved to squeeze them out on a paper towel to see how much had been lost in the accident.

"Well, looks like I am going to have make another batch for the worms. I still have some left over, but it won't be enough for the kids." Shaggy sighed, knowing that he would have to use some of his back up stash of his own jello to replace the missing amount. Though Velma knew the sigh wasn't serious, since he always kept several flavors and brands of jello in his pantry... Just in case. The sigh was mainly sarcastic expression as if it was arm twisting to make Shaggy and Scooby spend more time in the kitchen working on some yummy food.

' _Heaven forbid Shaggy and Scooby have to make more food!_ ' Must be Velma's _bad_ influence.

"Oh..." Velma mused, shooting a rolled eye his way with a pressed smirk. " _What ever shall you do_? I guess it's now time to walk to the store, uphill... both ways. Right?"

Her tight-lipped grin twisted sideways as she wasn't seriously quipping back at him, but instead answering his sarcasm in kind. Though little did she know how humorous she looked with her almost Fu Manchu of purple draped across her lips. Well, more of a horseshoe mustache then a Fu Manchu, as it was far thicker then what might be known as the Asian face wear.

"Yep. _Alllllllllllll_ the way over here..." Taking a few steps, Shaggy walked goofily across the room to the pantry. Exaggerating his steps until he disappeared into the open door. It took but a moment before nabbing his extra boxes and anything else before returning to the kitchen.

"Oh, we don't have any more milk containers. I used the only ones you had dropped off for us." Shaggy pondered, looking over the recipe over again and remembering the steps he had taken earlier. The milk container was useful with gathering the straws all in one place and allowing him to pour the liquid into the straws and having a place for the excess to be easily removed. And he had already tossed them out, so he didn't want to dig them out and try to use them again after they had been in the garbage.

"Hm, I might have some more in my room, I could look." Velma offered, always having some cardboard on hand for one project or another. Though if it wasn't in her room, it might be somewhere in her lab as well. "What do you need it for?"

Passing the clipboard of instructions, Velma took it and read the steps over, chewing the bottom of her lip. Shaggy could see the wheels turning, but he wasn't exactly sure where they would end up too. Hopefully a situation that would help against the slow speed of de-worming. Though adding another set of hands to the current pair and paws would speed it up either way. Shaggy was hoping for at least a ' _hmm_ ' or an ' _ah ha_ ', though a ' _Jinkies_ ' would be amazing. And he knew something was coming, because her lip hadn't been enough for her to chew on, moving to the tip of her thumb as she took in all the information she could from the instructions.

"So, it looks like we need some type of container to put the gelatin jello into. And then an easier way to extract the worms from the straws. And not use a leaf blower to do so." She said, giving the guilty party a look. Though it wasn't a bad idea, but had they given it more thought they would have figured out the error in their plans. As it was far too powerful for what they wanted to have it do. And her mind was racing with other options... The hardest part would be which of them made the most sense in their situation and had laying around the house.

"We just need something that can exert a high amount of a localized air pressure, with a small enough diameter to work with the current circumference of the plastic tubing. Accounting for the friction between the inside surface area of the pathway and the gelatin derived substance. Hm..."

Pulling out some technobabble, it was like Velma's brain was leaking out with the overwhelming thought process that the woman had at times, she was clearly working on a solution for their current problem. But he was going to have to wait till she got enough out, judging by her glazed look on her face as she pondered their situation. A bit too into thinking about it, to translate what she exactly meant by her statement. But! He did get a ' _hm_ ' out of her at least. That meant **progress**!

"... Though the amount of pressure that is generated by a leaf blower has too much psi to leave the subject in question intact. So, using an air compressor would be too much force generated as well, without some type of modulation to the current setup. But using something as small as lung capacity, holds a different issue. Not wanting to contaminate the end product to be able to give to others. So, it needs to be mechanical, generated by an outside and more sterile outside force."

She had upgraded from just the tip of her thumb, to flat out gnawing lightly at the nearby knuckle of her index finger. Tiny bits of white teeth dances across her finger as it helped occupy her with her thinking.

" ** _Ah ha_**! I have a few ideas. Be right back."

And off she disappeared.


	7. What's in Velma's Bag?

While Velma was gone, searching for any other milk cartons and whatever other crazy thing she had in mind. ( _Too much math for Shaggy's liking, but whatever worked for her._ ) Shaggy moved to steer Scooby to help him whip up another batch of worms. Since it seemed like Velma might have a plan about how to get the worms out better, he was going to leave the deworming process to once she got back. Since the mixture had to get made and given enough time to cool down before he could even add the straws and worm liquid to any carton she brought to him anyway.

"Hey Scooby, like' put that kettle back on will ya? I think it's gotten cold enough that it needs another round of heat." Shaggy asked of his best bud, earning a salute in response.

"Rah rah Raggy." Moving to get the fire lit, Scooby placed the kettle on the flame to let it heat up for the worms. Making sure to replace the top so that it could properly whistle when it was ready.

Looking over the supplies, the Jell-O wall had dwindled from when they had started. But Shaggy still had enough whipping cream and gelatin to make more gummy worms for the kids. Thankfully he always liked to buy more then he needed, just in case. And actually, looking over left over flavors, he still had some of the Raspberry left. So, he didn't need to have pulled out his sparse just yet. But that was ok, more is always good. Better that not having enough. Especially when making food for others.

He wished they still had some cans of whipped cream left cold. He had a few tucked away for a rainy day, but it was nicer when it was cold and straight out of the fridge. The rest of the gang probably had a slightly used can, but he didn't want to break in and steal it just for a quick snack. Not when there were other things that he could eat, that wasn't swiping from his other pals.

"Shaggy!" Velma snorted, coming out of nowhere and giving him a hearty whap on the shoulder. He spun around to see why she hit him but noticed immediately. She had found the mustache somehow, tried to scrub it off of her face in the bathroom. But without giving herself enough time, there was still a bit of purple left sitting on her top lip. Causing him to try and fail to contain his laughter.

"You jerk." She wanted to be angry, but part of her was surprised that she hadn't noticed him reaction to it. Along with the fact that he managed to keep it a secret from her, and Scooby didn't notice to spoil the surprise. So, she eventually sighed and gave in to a laugh with him. "Oh you. What am I going to do with you?"

Placing her hands at her hips, she jangled with a small paper bag that must have contained what she had in mind, and the cartons. Well, if she was able to find some. He could totally chug a carton or two of juice that might have come in a similar container, but he really didn't have one on hand. _They would have to go to the store to buy more food..._

 ** _Perish the thought!_**

In some ways... Shaggy did hope that she didn't have one and that would they got to go food shopping for more. He had gotten most of the treats done, and it wouldn't stall them that long... maybe. To go and get some juice to drink... And some more whipped cream... A _aaaaand_ anything else that would be yummy. Just an hour or two, tops! Really! Though he would have to invite Velma to come along for the company. At least she should be more willing to go, then if Daphne was asking.

"R'hat you rot Relma?" Padding over and looking around Shaggy who was lost in delicious thought, he noticed the bag and brought attention to it. He was about to try to shove his head inside but knew better then to do that to something from Velma. Her bags were less safe than say, like Fred. To save his nose a possible poking, he held back and just asked about it from afar.

"Oh, yeah. I found another three cartons and some things that might help your sticky straw situation." Peeking into her bag, she pushed them around before she looked up and noticed standing by Shaggy and Scooby didn't give her good counter space to work on. So, she thought to move to the island nearby and dump the bag out to show her haul.

Various objects spilled on to the countertop surface. The duo knew what some of the objects were, but others were a bit of a mystery. Picking one up, Scooby looked at the small hand-held device... of some type. It kind of reminded the Dane of a small butane torch, with a cylinder and some type of nozzle. But he doubted that was the same thing. Because he was pretty sure a flame wouldn't help them in this situation. More likely to melt the plastic straws than to help them remove it. But if the straws were some kind of pastry that one might be able to char or caramelize, then it would be great!

"That is actually a mini air compressor for inflating bike tires."

Gently taking it from Scooby, she tilted it and pointed to the base which showed that it was hollow at the moment. She then ran her hand across the mess and found a small metal co2 canister. Holding it up to present it to the pair. It was silver in color, and only a few inches long. Easily held between her thumb and forefinger.

"This guy goes inside, and then you press the pressure lever and air shoots out. I really haven't used this yet, so I'm not sure if this is what we need. So, it will be a low priority till later testing might call for a higher pressure to give this a try. Otherwise I would like to save this in case we need it on a bike ride if I can help it."

Velma pointed out, but she liked the idea as a whole. It was nice to have just a small, hand held gadget that she could bring on a bike ride that made it possible to deal with sudden need for a repair and inflation. Though she also did own a foot long, small portable bike pump just in case as well. But it was nicer if she didn't have to slave over the pump to just get the tire to a point where she could ride on it.

"Are those syringes?" Shaggy was afraid to say that aloud. Unsure why Velma might have that sort of thing.

"Yep, I have a few different types. Some of the smaller gauges are great for measuring liquids in some of my experiments. It is a lot easier than trying to rely on pouring it into a container only to then add it to something. And since it's a plunger, I can watch the measurements while I am adding which ever liquid to whatever project at the time."

"Hm, I guess you can use it like that, rather than just for medical things." Shaggy guessed, still feeling weird to see it.

"Syringes are used all the times, in all sorts of situations. Not just use for medical things." Velma pointed out. But it just made Shaggy shiver a little.

"I don't really like' like needles." Rubbing the sides of his arms, he tried to ward off the goosebumps at the thought. He was such a wuss when it came to needles. No matter how necessary they are.

"Rah rah!" Scooby agreed, hiding behind Shaggy. With keeping him up to date with all his vaccines and such. Needles were a necessary evil for him as well.

"But you guys use one of these all the time!" Feeling a bit flustered with their concern over a small plastic tube and a plunger pushing air or other liquids. Making a few aggravated gestures, Velma wandered over to Shaggy and Scooby's junk drawer. ( _one of several in the room)_ and fished around for the object she was looking for. Pulling out a syringe she knew they used all the time... Namely a flavor infuser.

Pulling the small, clear and measurement marked syringe, she held it up for both of them to see. It even had a wicked looking needle attacked to it, useful for pressing through to add flavoring into various meats, Veggies and the occasional seafood. And while it was thicker than most medical grade syringes, it didn't really look all that different. And she even knew that there were several of the three ringed, bright silver classic surgical type syringes. They were used for cooking, resembling the kind of look from a medical surgeon s tray from most movies. Must be where they get them. Why buy some expensive looking medical syringe, when you can buy a baster that looks just like one?

"Oh, hahaha. That, yeah." Shaggy felt a little big sheepish, since well... Velma's tubes were just a bunch of plastic that looked kind of like one. While the tool he used often, looks far closer to the thing he was being scared of. Stabby silver bits included.

"Yeah, that you silly goofs." Velma placed the tool back into the drawer where it lived and moved back to her stuff. "Fred also has something like this only super-sized, for the van. And I know you guys have used that on an oil pan before."

"Heh, sorry Velms. You know how I get when I get scared. Not really thinking about it." Shaggy admitted, knowing that his brain could run away with him at the drop of a hat. Especially at things that were freighting. Even just to think about.

Scooby also felt a bit silly and tried to gather a bit of courage to poke and roll around some of the syringes that Velma had.

"Yeah, well these can be used as a pneumatic pump... um. They are able to take air that I suck into the tube beforehand, and then can use that stored air to push against the worms trapped in the straws and hopefully, it works. There are some possible problems, but I won't know how well it works until we experiment!"

Pulling on one of the plungers, Velma sucked in air and turned the nozzle at Scooby. Gripping part of the device that stuck out for handling, she quickly pushed the air out and right into Scooby's face.

 ** _WHISSSSSSTLE!_**

The sound rang out, just as Velma shot air at Scooby. Making a strange coincidence from when she depressed the plunger, and the nearby kettle finally calling out. Letting the group know that the water was ready. Though Scooby was licking his chops at the odd sensation of being puffed at from the air. Trying to chomp at nothing, even after the air had run out and stopped.

"Looks like the water's ready! One sec."


	8. Final Deworming

With the water hot enough to work in the gelatin and Jell-O, Shaggy and Scooby moved to work on the straws and the containers that Velma had brought along. Since it wasn't the first time they had made it that day, it didn't take the pair long to get the liquid prepped and added to the containers. (This time Shaggy made sure to use a bowl with a built-in spout!)

"That looks like it will waste a bunch." Velma pointed out, hovering out of curiosity but also didn't want to get in their way. Making sure to give them room when needed but watch over their shoulders to see the process for herself. Seeing that the liquid filled up more of the container then the straws themselves. Being more gap spaces than worm in that milk container.

"Yeah, Like' I don't know how the instructions we had, could really explain how to keep the liquid inside the straws without having to fill the whole container up with the stuff. So, it gets in all the straws."

Shaggy had a few ideas, but most of them would double or triple the work time to get everything set up and ready. Like possibly taping up the bottom somehow. But that sounded complicated, on top of having to carefully find a way to feed the liquid into each tapped off straw. And while Velma's syringes would work for that, it would be a chore and a half to pull off in that manner. So, while there was waste, it would take more time to fix it at this point.

"Yeah, I think you would have to find a way to cap off the bottom somehow." Velma was having similar ideas. But also, didn't see one that was quick and easy.

"Oh well, it just leaves more for us to eat! Good thing I got some vegetarian gelatin to use." Chirped Shaggy, happy he had managed to find a local store that carried it. Though he knew of a few placed online as well. Never knew when one of the kids might also be a vegetarian or Vegan, so he was trying to not have any food issues if possible.

"Really? Neat. I wonder if it tastes different. But I really don't eat that much with gelatin to really probably know." Velma shrugged.

"Yeah, I don't know. I wondered that myself earlier. Scooby says they are both tasty. So not help like' there." Shaggy said with a chuckle. Earning just a slurp and a belly pat from Scooby, showing his agreement.

"So, this has to set up, and we can move on to the other container you had set up and the left over from your... Expedition into the unknown with the leaf blower." Raising an eyebrow, she tilted her head and gave them a look. Needing to make a book, so from now on... She would know when and who borrowed her stuff to keep an eye on it. And make notes in the back for **Banned** items. So, this sort of thing didn't happen again.

 _At least if she could help it._

"Yep! Well, there is the worms that I put back in the fridge while we set up leaf blower that you can try your fangled gadgets on, while I work on extracting another batch from the previous container that has been done since earlier." He didn't miss her look, but she had every right to look at them like that. But they still had a job to do, and he would feel more bad later, but for now they had to get the worms done. He didn't know when his dad might come to pick it up, and well... Halloween was right around the corner. So usually the holiday party was before or on the day of for the kids.

"Where do you want me to put them once I get any out?" Velma wondered, moving to get things done.

"Ah, here. Let me get you the dirt." Shaggy moved to open the fridge once more, pulling out a large Tupperware container filled with the powdered cookie crumble from earlier, and the few worms that had been extracted earlier and didn't end up on Velma.

"Ah, got it. Gummy worms end up in cookie dirt. Alright... let's get this experiment on its way!" Rolling up her sleeves, Velma looked at the pile of worms that she was handed and looked over what she had brought to try to solve the de-worming issue.

Picking up one of the straws, she looked it over. It was a basic bendy straw, the ones commonly used in drinking. It didn't seem to have anything special to them, besides the bendy part had been pulled out to help make the _Clitellum_ , or the one band on a worm that looks different from the rest and helps to tell which side the head of the worm is. Specifically, the _phylum Annelida_ , or common earthworm. It was a simple way to make the Jell-O look like the worm in question, but it was possible that those very ridges were causing some of the issues with a quick removal.

But before she tried to do anything, she wanted to give the instructions a once over. Just in case there was something on there that would give her some insight to the process.

"Hey Scooby, Can I have the clipboard for a second?"

Looking over at her, Scooby moved his big head over the pile of papers and gripped the board lightly in his teeth. Picking it up by raising his neck up, he moved around Shaggy by the sink who was busy using some warm water to separate the excess from the worm straws. Catching the excess in a spaghetti strainer. Padding over to Velma, Scooby presented the clipboard and expected the ear scratching rewards he would receive.

"Thanks, Scooby. Hmmm…." Taking the slightly soggy stack of papers, she paid her dues to the Dane and gave the information a look over. Sure, she had printed it out for them, but it had been a while ago. And she had looked up a lot of instructions to gather this many for Shaggy and Scooby. She didn't recall all the information off the top of her head and needed a refresher when it came to the worms they were working on.

Being the voracious reader, that she was… it only took her a few seconds to absorb the instructions. Making one eyelid flutter momentarily as she read some of the tips at the bottom of the instructions.

"Shaggy?" Snorting once in a sigh, she placed down the papers and turned her attention to the man across the way.

"Hm?" Tilting his head slightly in her direction, he made a sound that told her that he was listening.

"…What are you doing right now?"

"Oh, I'm just using some warm water to help me free the excess from the worms. I did it by hand earlier and it was a bit hard. So, I figured the warm water would speed up the process…. Oh."

It didn't dawn on him, until he was saying it aloud at what made the woman sigh. For all the trouble he was having with the worms, he was in fact doing the very thing that the little instructions recommended to help with removal of the worms in the first place. But he didn't think to read past the steps to anything else that might have prevented the earlier need for her leaf blowers. But they were already past that, and now had a solution for speeding up the process as well.

"There are multiple ways you can remove the worms from the straws. You can roll a rolling pin over the straws and squeeze them out or you can hold the straws over warm water. The worms will slip right out. And voila! Jell-O worms are served."

Velma repeated the instructions, word for word from the sheet beside her. Giving very clear tips on how they could fix that problem. But in their eagerness to make yummy food, the duo forgot to check everything. Oh well, that is why they had people like her around.

Plucking one of her syringes, she filled it with air and wandered beside Shaggy with her set of worms. Thankfully it was a duel sink, and she just had to tilt the faucet in her direction to give it a try. (While Shaggy still had enough warm water in what he was doing to continue at it, while shifting his attention to watch Velma if this actually worked.) Scooby came up beside her as well, to see if warm water was in fact a solution.

"Here I go." Running the water, she regulated the temperature to be a bit warmer then what Shaggy was using. Scooby leaned over and added another spaghetti strainer to catch what ever she got out, so the worms didn't touch the less desirable, unclean sink metal.

"Thanks, Scooby…" With a way to catch the worms now, she tilted the straw to catch the warm water across the sides of the plastic. Hoping to expand the material and allow for easier release of the tasty treat from inside. Then she tried to see if the water did in fact make it 'slip right out', but it was proving a bit more difficult then instructions were providing. But Velma wasn't surprised too much, it was a DYI instructables from online. Bringing her tool around, she gave a puff off air and the worm slid out and into the awaiting container.

"Whoo!"

"Yes!"

"Rah hoo!"

With a round of victorious yells, they had found something that worked! Though it wasn't fool proof, and the group found out as Velma tried to do the third in this process. But the rough idea of warm water definitely sped up the process dramatically.

Bringing over the various syringes and stuff that Velma had brought, they rotated between the three of them various techniques. When the air puff didn't work, they sometimes tried to jab the end of a small chopstick that fit all the way into the straw, to try to push it from behind. Which sometimes worked. But some where still stubborn enough to need flat out hand squeezing or using a rolling pin as well.

It took about an hour of work, but they finally managed to get around one hundred and fifty worms, de-strawed and into the dirt for the kids. But it had been a draining process overall.

"How about, I like' treat you to dinner? It's late and all this food making is making me hungry!" Shaggy offered, still feeling bad for earlier, and figured she must be getting hungry as well. Plus, he had to thank her for all her hard work as well, since she stuck around and spend the hour slaving back and forth in the sink to get all the worms out, even when she didn't have too.

"Also, the other worms have to set up a while, before we can get to round too. But me and Scoob will take care of that one, you don't have to worry about it."

"Sure, I wonder if the others are around, and might want to come." Velma pondered, not having seen the other two since earlier.

"Sure, I can have like' Scooby find the others. But like Velms…. You might want to take a bit of time in the bathroom before we leave." He smiled, wiggling a pointer finger across his own mustache and gave it a rub to indicate why she might want to take some time in the bathroom. "Unless you want Daphne to notice. It is her favorite color after all."

Placing a hand to her mouth, she had forgotten about that. And while Shaggy had been part of the cause of it, he was at least warning her to take care of it before her best friend found out… and would probably proceed to have a field day. So, she was happy that he had reminded her.

"… Noted. So, I guess release the hound to track down the others, and I'll meet you guys in the living room… once this is taken care of?"

"Sounds like a plan!" Shaggy said with a grin.

Which earned a chuckle as Velma disappeared to take care of her faded facial wear. Sending Scooby off on his buddy hunting mission, Shaggy double checked the fridge to make sure he didn't forget anything. (In case they had to make a stop after dinner.) Seeing that everything for the most part was setting, and basically ready with the exception of more worms for the kids. Closing the door and dusting off his hands at a job well done, he pivoted on a heel and made strides to meet Scooby and the rest of the gang in the living room for dinner.

A reward for a good Jell-O job done!


End file.
